WUHAN, China–While Americans in Wuhan, China, are scrambling to get out to keep from getting the coronavirus, other Americans will be going to China, to study the illness, said Hoosier Alex Azar, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.

“We will accept the invitation to participate as part of the World Health Organization’s team of experts that will deploy to China to assist Chinese experts on the ground,” said Azar, Thursday morning. “To actually get ground truth, to study this virus.”

He said the goal is to prevent the spread in China, and also to prevent the spread of it around the world.

The Chinese government has resisted the offer of outside help for two weeks, but finally relented and accepted the offer.

“While it doesn’t pose a threat to everyday Americans at this time, the president is ensuring that we are proactively preparing and also taking the necessary steps to prevent or mitigate any potential further spread of that virus here in the United States,” said Azar, a former top executive at Eli Lilly.

He said it’s not necessary for you to go out and buy a face mask and all people coming back to the U.S. from China are being quarantined and screened for the virus.

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay